Her name is Norah. She's got a lush voice, good looks, a pedigree and lots of buzz for her debut CD

During his 18-year tenure as president of Blue Note records, Bruce Lundvall has had an open-door policy for new talent. Anyone can call up the legendary jazz label, schedule an appointment and play him a demo. Lundvall has heard thousands of tapes, but only twice has a relative unknown walked into his office and walked out with a record deal. The first, in 1994, was Rachelle Ferrell, who possesses a dazzling 6 1/2-octave vocal range. The second was a tiny wisp of a singer named Norah Jones. "Norah doesn't have one of those over-the-top instruments," says Lundvall. "It's just a signature...